The Hanukkah War

This morning RBO published a highly informative roundup of news and views on the Hanukkah War, launched by Israel on December 27, on the sixth day of Hanukkah, with air strikes on Hamas strongholds. To which I would add President Bush's unequivocal January 3 speech:

[...] This recent outburst of violence was instigated by Hamas -- a Palestinian terrorist group supported by Iran and Syria that calls for Israel's destruction. Eighteen months ago, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a coup, and since then has imported thousands of guns and rockets and mortars. Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, but Hamas routinely violated that ceasefire by launching rockets into Israel. On December 19th, Hamas announced an end to the ceasefire and soon unleashed a barrage of rockets and mortars that deliberately targeted innocent Israelis -- an act of terror that is opposed by the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people, President Abbas. [...]

My only quibble with the wording is that Israel's attack is not an "outburst of violence" but a legitimate act of war.

And I note that the fact that the war was launched during Hanukkah has been ignored by the news media and government spokespersons alike. I'm not sure why. Does no one in the press, no one in government, want to bring up a link between the Hamas vow to destroy Israel and the Seleucid sack of Israel, which occurred a very long time before the birth of Mohammed?